handsome boy

 Ok so my awesome sister-in-law made Creed these darling clothes. People make SUCH a big deal about what a cutie he looks like when he wears these that I had to snap a few pictures. Seriously she could make a fortune selling these things if she ever chose too!! And I have had some great renditions of Newsies sung to me as well ;) 

Evan and the terrible horrible no good very bad day

 The 24 of July is usually very exciting, but this year tops it off for us. We woke up and took the kids to watch the parade at Uncle Brad's shop. We enjoyed good company and yummy treats, and lots of candy from the parade. After the parade Evan was dragging a bit so we just hung out around the house while he rested. Then we packed up to head to some friends for a BBQ. We, once again, enjoyed good food and great company and had a great time watching fireworks. Evan finally said he needed to get to bed so he could be up for work at 4:30. Around 1:00 I heard Evan throwing up. He proceeded to do this for the rest of the night. At one point he asked me to take him to the hospital, which I should have done but we had all had a bout with the flu the week before so I was sure that was the problem, but I talked him into waiting until an urgent care opened. We finally went in and they looked at him and sent us to the hospital. A bunch of tests, hours and trips to the bathroom so he could throw up some more, later they decided he needed an emergency surgery to remove his gall bladder. I know its gross to show these pictures, but the surgeon was making such a big deal about how bad things looked inside that he printed me out some pictures. 

Evan has been so much better since he had his surgery!! Its like he is a new person. We thought his immune system just never got a chance to recuperate from when he had influenza. Also, during his surgery they said he would stop breathing and told us he needed to be tested for sleep apnea ( I know, very shocking to those of you who have heard him sleep before :)) It turns out his tongue is too big for his mouth so it closes off his airway. He stops breathing over 70 times an hour and averages about 2 hours of sleep a night. No wonder he is ALWAYS tired! Anyway, we are fixing that too. So like a said he is like a new person and we love it!!

Mary and Creed

Mary has become an honorary member of our family. I told her this last week when she got here to work with Creed and the kids were fighting and yelling and not obeying all while she was here!! Up until this point they have been very polite while she has been here. I guess that is what happens when someone has been coming to our home for the last 8 months! Mary is our little miracle worker. Creed  has done so well working with Mary. His face lights up when she comes to our home. (Although he is starting to figure out that she makes him work and stretch himself in ways he doesn't want to, but he always ends up looking at her adoringly before she leaves  ) Last week she was able to get him up on his hands and knees. Every now and then I pause to realize what a miracle Creed's life has been. I am so grateful for every mile stone that he reaches. I am grateful for the people who have come into our lives and helped us know what we need to do to help Creed be as successful as possible. What a joy Mary has been for us. And we couldn't love Creed more. His smile is contagious and we all look forward to our turn to love on him! 

Gracie and the red plate!!

 I just love my Gracie. She is such a great help! I am amazed ( and sad ) at how grown up she is, but I'm excited about the person she is becoming!! 

The other day she showed this to me. I LOVE that her teacher does this, I think it is darling! And it was fun to have the whole family listen to and praise her for doing something kind and making good choices at school. It gave us a great opportunity at dinner to talk about the good that comes from doing something "amazing!" 

Road Trip to Colorado

 Our kids have always been close to Eric and Janine's kids, most likely because the older ones were born a few weeks/days apart from each other. The kids like to face time with each other and if they are together Maryn and Gracie can be heard for most of the night talking to each other. So the kids were pretty excited when we decided to load up and road trip to Colorado to surprise the cousins at their Mom's wedding reception. 

 The kids got along pretty well considering how long of a drive it is to Denver, but they were excited whenever they got to get out of the car and run around for a few minutes. 

 We got to the hotel and let the kids swim for an hour then got all dressed up to go to the reception. Sander was out of the car and running up the road before we had even stopped because he was so excited to see Caleb. Gracie immediately ran into the house checking all the rooms for Maryn and you could tell from the screaming when they found each other. They didn't leave each other's side for the rest of our time in Colorado. Sander was growing impatient to find Caleb and finally ran off. We didn't see much of them after that, they were busy running around being crazy boys! The little girls quickly found Josh and Adam and spent some fun time jumping on the tramp and sneaking treats. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of Janine and Nathan, but they looked incredibly happy and Janine looked gorgeous as usual! Evan and I enjoyed getting to know many of their friends, who made it a point to make us feel welcome. It was a beautiful night. 

 Jean and Roy were so great to let us steal the kids for the night and take them back to the hotel with us so the kids could have a few more hours to play. Evan took them the swim while I let Creed have some quiet time to try to recuperate from all the excitement. Then all the kids piled into the beds to hunker down for the night. We decided six kids in one bed was the limit so Sander and Caleb were awesome and took the floor!

We took the kids back to their grandparents house and enjoyed visiting with Janine's awesome family for a few hours then hit the road back to home. We sure do love those kids and had great fun on our road trip! 

Hannah Banana goes to preschool

 It's finally here! Hannah gets to start preschool. While Hannah has given us quite the wild ride, I can't help but feel a little sad that she is starting the process of growing up and moving on.

 She has seriously been counting down the minutes for preschool to begin. I was worried when I left her, but she was sitting (QUIETLY) coloring a picture when I walked out the door. She had one moment of hesitation when she asked me if I would really come back and get her. Since it had been a good day ;), I told her I really would come back and get her. 

Eden was sad to see her buddy go (Creed is probably more sad now that he is the only one left for Eden to play with....) but for this very brief, peaceful moment, Eden and Creed are fast asleep and the house is very, very quiet. I just might be able to get used to this. 

sneak peak

Some day I will feel up to the task of telling Creeds story, but for now I will just say we are grateful every day for the blessing he is in our lives. We can't thank everyone enough for the countless prayers   love and support we have felt from you all! 

Creed-man you bring us so much joy. We love you! 

back to school

 Wow, wow and wow. My kiddos are looking old! They were so excited for the first day of school! Had to laugh when I heard Sander sneak out of the house before 6:30 this morning to take care of the dogs so they could all hurry and get ready for school. They were a great support to each other, as they didn't want their mamma walking them to school, making sure they all made it to their classes ok. I am so grateful to have these kids in my life. 

 Grace 5th 

 Sander 3rd

Adelle 1st

( for some reason the kids really pull out the model posing ha )

They came home and told us all about their first day while we made "confidence cookies" ( great from pintrest) and enjoyed a yummy treat together.